Former Obama administration official joins Native owned firm

Wednesday, October 26, 2016  

A long-serving Obama administration official is joining a Native-owned consulting firm.

Lillian Sparks Robinson, a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, served as Commissioner of the Administration for Native Americans for more than six years. She's now headed to Tribal Tech, where she will work as an executive strategist.

"I am very proud personally and professionally that Lillian has joined Tribal Tech," President and CEO Victoria Vasques, a member of the San Pasqual Band of Mission Indians, said in a press release. "She brings a wealth of knowledge and will be a tremendous resource for us as we continue to grow and serve our customers."

Vasques founded Tribal Tech in 2000, after she departed from her senior-level post within the Bush administration. Her first government contract was with the Administration for Native Americans , according to Inc.

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Tribal Tech, which is based in Virginia, has since grown by leaps and bounds as it offers services to tribal, federal, state, local and private sector clients. Revenues in 2015 were $8.7 million, and the firm has seen a three-year growth rate of 488 percent, according to Inc.

Sparks Robinson, who has worked for the National Indian Education Association and the National Congress of American Indians, was one of several Native women whom Obama nominated and appointed to top positions within his administration and within the federal government. Most have moved on to jobs in the tribal and private sector as his eight-year tenure winds down.